Context: Recently, Rajasthan has become the first State to implement a policy to control blindness, with the objective of ensuring the “right to sight”.

About the Policy

• The Department of Medical and Health, on the direction of the Chief Minister released the policy document for the prevention of blindness.

• It is aimed to bring light to the lives of more than three lakh people suffering from visual impairment in the state. 

• The prevalence rate of blindness in the country was 1.1 percent in 2020 and work would be done to bring it down to 0.3 percent through the blindness control policy.

• Features: Under the policy, the Rajasthan government will mandatorily run Keratoplasty Centres and Eye Banks at all the government medical colleges.

• Efforts to eliminate visual impairment would be made in the districts in collaboration with voluntary organisations, trusts, hospitals and other charitable institutions working in this field.

• In this regard, the state government will carry out a campaign for eye donation on an extensive level along with the private institutions.

• Special training will be imparted to eye experts, eye surgeons, post-graduate students, counsellors working for eye donation and eye assistants etc.